1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display system and, more particularly, to an image display system in which a plurality of magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus can be controlled en bloc by a computer so that these magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus can display desired images, respectively.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, there has been developed an electronic still camera system which employs a combination of an image pickup device such as a solid image pickup element, an image pickup tube or the like and an inexpensive magnetic disk of a relatively larger memory capacity as a recording medium to photograph an object electronically and record the still image thereof on the magnetic disk, and which uses a separately arranged television system or a printer including a video signal reproducing device to reproduce the recorded image. Also, there has been realized a visual magnetic recording system which is adpated to photograph still images recorded in a visible recording medium such as an ordinary film, a printing paper or the like and to record these still images on a magnetic disk, as well as a video reproducing system including a video signal reproducing device which is adapted to read out video signals from a magnetic disk and display the readout video signals on a television or the like.
The above-mentioned magnetic recording/reproducing system in which a magnetic head is moved in the radial direction of a rotating magnetic disk to record a signal onto an arbitrary track or to reproduce a signal from an arbitrary track, especially the video signal reproducing system which reproduces video signals from the magnetic disk are now applied to various uses.
As a typical application thereof, it can be used as a process indicating medium in a line to manufacture and produce various kinds of products, semimanufactured goods and the like. In a conventional manufacturing and producing line, there are distributed for respective processes thereof process indicating papers, in each of which the contents of the operation to be performed in the process, precautions and other articles are stated. Even in the same line, since the contents of the operation and other articles are changed when the kinds of the products to be processed in the process, specifications thereof and the like are altered, the process indicating paper is replaced with another one whenever the contents of the operation in the process are changed.
The video signal reproducing system and a television system connected thereto are now in the limelight because they can replace the process indicating paper. The articles stated in the process indicating paper are now replaced by pictures displayed on a television screen. In other words, a magnetic disk is included in the video signal reproducing system, and video signals to generate pictures respectively representing the contents of the operation have been previously recorded in the respective tracks of the magnetic disk. And, each time the contents of the operation are changed, the track of the disk in which the images to be displayed on the television is specified to thereby display the instruction of the operation corresponding to the changed operation contents.
One set of a video signal reproducing system and a display device is arranged for each of the processes in a production line, and all video signal reproducing systems are collectively controlled by a central computer.
In another application, television display screens are arranged in a plane manner to form a multiple screen. Various kinds of guide information can be transmitted by use of the multiple screen or images representing advertisements, propaganda or the like can be displayed on the multiple screen. That is, the video signal reproducing system with a display device can be applied in supplying image information to a large number of people.
In such video signal reproducing system application systems, a plurality of video signal reproducing systems are controlled by a computer. Therefore, it is necessary to give individual instructions to the respective video signal reproducing system and also to address one or more video signal reproducing systems to be instructed.